The Dayak dilemma

Note: Is Sarawak doing enough for the Dayak community economically? Going by statistics, the answer seems to be in the negative.

A KEEN DEBATE ON THE PLIGHT of the Dayaks in Sarawak started recently.

It all began when Parti Rakyat Sarawak (PRS) former member Beginda Minda, who is aligned to the Sarawak Minister of Land Development Datuk Seri Dr James Masing, blamed the present sad economic plight of the Dayaks on the policies of Chief Minister Tan Sri Abdul Taib Mahmud, and the failure of his deputy, Tan Sri Alfred Jabu, the Dayak leader in the Government, to address the problems faced by the community.

He even called on the duo to resign, saying that they had been around for far too long, and that it was time they gave way to younger people in the Barisan Nasional (BN) to take over. Embarrassed, Masing removed Minda, known to be one of his closest political aides, as information chief of his Balleh division and later forced him to resign from the party, as demanded by the BN/PBB top leadership whom he had accused of `bullying' PRS.

Political analysts nearly all agree that any significant improvement in the economic status of the Dayak minorities has to be linked to how much say their leaders have in Sarawak's power politics. Many are not ready to blame the Federal Government, saying that aid meant for Bumiputeras, including the minority groups in Sarawak, are often hijacked and directed only to those who are supporting the present state leadership, and more.

It does not help when the Dayak Chamber of Commerce and Industry (DCCI), started at the initiative of leading Iban corporate leader Datuk Amar Leonard Linggi Jugah and several other Dayak businessmen and professionals, is not seen to be in favour of the present Sarawak government leadership.

Taib's close Iban advisers, especially Jabu, have been telling the Chief Minister the DCCI has a political motive, which Linggi has vehemently denied. The...